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bellygod
Reviews
Tonari no Totoro (1988)
timeless classic and a balm for the soul
this is a children's' anime, but adults will like it too (i did). It has a simple plot of two adorable sisters and their fantastic little adventure in the house they just moved into.
Actually the plot is fairly simple but always interesting, mainly due to the unerring accuracy of the portrayals of the characters; they're real and amusing because they will remind you of your own childhoods (if you were lucky enough to have one as nice as this). The movie feels original, and stays far away from the clichés of kids' films.
From the start I was charmed by the beautiful animation and the joy and cuteness of the girls and the affection between them.
The movie has some drama, centering on the health of their mother, who is recovering from illness at a hospital, but it leaves you with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. It never fails to put me in a good mood.
Umi ga kikoeru (1993)
authentic and nostalgic
I saw this anime after I had been introduced to some other, more prominent anime from Studio Ghibli. If you appreciate a fine subtle authentic slice-of-life story of high school romance, this is as good as it gets.
Its told from the point of view of a male student. A new female transfer student arrives from Tokyo and the plot moves forward in an interesting way. It never hurries, and feels very matter of fact. By the end of the film lessons are learned and the heart strings are pulled.
This movie doesn't try to do too much; it simply focuses on the main characters and tells their story honestly. You never feel manipulated as you do with many Hollywood films. The dramatic conflicts are real and interesting.
This is one movie I treasure.
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
Unfunny Ripoff
Words fail to express my dismay at having wasted a half hour of my life on this film. If it seems unfair to review a movie based on only watching it 30 minutes, excuse me, but how about the unfairness of duping viewers into thinking they're gonna see the sequel to 'dumb and dumber' which was a FUNNY film, with this bait and switch trash? You've got two (to me) unknown, and sadly, unfunny actors replacing the demented and dumb, yet humorous originals Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Then you get a story going nowhere My half hour was spent without a single chuckle; I might have moaned once or twice from indigestion. I couldn't stomach watching any more; I felt I was gonna hurl.
This is one of the worst sequels of all time.
Neko no ongaeshi (2002)
First Half Great, Second Standard
When I started watching The Cat Returns, I thought, 'Wow'. The animation was fantastic and charming, as good as anything I've seen in anime--it beautifully portrayed the lead character, a Japanese high school girl with all her klutziness, lack of self-confidence and lack of direction. You really like and pull for this girl.
Then she crosses over to a fantasy world, due to something nice she did for someone, I won't tell the story. Unfortunately at this point the story becomes a standard damsel-in-a-strange-land fantasy, with 2-D good and bad guys. It's also a bit short.
Still I'd recommend this movie for anyone to see, for the first part and the end, when you see her change of personality after her strange experiences.
Anyway, I got it in my collection, as I do anything from Studio Ghibli.